Chapter 2 ( The Prince)

Rays of light awakened Little Richard. He looked around and saw Bak Joan cleaning the window glasses with a wet cloth. Bak Joan also noticed him and said, “Oh, Master Richard, Sorry for waking you up,” “It’s alright. It’s alright,” Richard said and tried to sleep again. But he couldn’t as questions appeared in his mind. “Should I talk to him?” “Will he want to talk with me?”

Richard was bored of staying alone and wanted a companion to talk to. He was also too shy to start a conversation. But courage won over shyness, and words appeared.

“Hey, Bak Joan,”

“Tell me, master,”

“I heard that you Asian people worship an elephant man,”

Bak Joan was stunned because of Richard’s question. “I don’t understand what you asked, Master,” he replied. Richard was shocked too. “Did I ask him an inappropriate question?” Questions popped up.

“My father said that Asians worship a fat man with the head of an elephant,”

Bak Joan finally understood the situation and had no offense to the question.

“Master Richard, there is not only one Asian ethnicity in the world. The ones you said are Indians, and I am Korean. Asia has separate nationalities like the French, British, and Dutch in Europe. These different groups have unique appearances, beliefs, languages, and cultures.

“Oh, sorry. I told what I heard. Speaking of language, Bak Joan, you have a keen passion for that boring Latin class. You listened carefully and tried to pronounce the words, right?”

“I want to know the basics of Latin, Master,”

“Haven’t the orphanage taught you proper education?”

“They did, Master. But did not include Latin. Latin is a must for studying law. It is a language of many European texts,”

“Oh, yes, it is. Bak Joan, you have a high aim. Study Latin and go to law school. Yuh. But for me,”

Richard moaned while looking at his legs. Bak Joan said, “Master, you still have working arms and a bright mind,”

“But I have to stay in the wheelchair for my whole life!!!” Richard yelled suddenly. Bak Joan was shocked by Richard’s sudden mood change.

“I’m sorry if I made you feel sad, Master,” he apologized. Richard covered his face with a blanket and said, “I’m sorry too. But I want to sleep right now. The window glasses are clean enough,”

“Alright, Master. I’ll leave,”

That evening, Mr. Gratville came back home. He was furious.

“For hell’s sake, I have to go to Bengal! Go! Prepare my luggage!!!” he ordered the butler.

“What am I supposed to do with that mine accident? Now I have to go and check it for no reason,” Gratville continued to murmur while going to his room. Richard didn’t talk to him either. For him, there was no difference if his father was at home or not.

Later that night (In his dream),

Richard was running again, not from one creature but from a group of scary creatures. The group numbers about a hundred, and Richard had to run longer this time. The surrounding was a dark forest where light didn’t shed. Only the moon showed him the way. All this running made him so tired that he couldn’t breathe well, and his sight became blurry.

Richard suddenly fell through a slope. All these things were so realistic that Richard could not realize it was a dream. The creatures were too near, and Richard assumed it was his end and closed his eyes.

But it wasn’t. Little Richard didn’t feel any pain from the monsters ripping him apart. So, he opened his eyes and saw a boy wearing golden armor and a red cape standing before him. That boy held a shield in one hand to protect the creatures’ coming. From his other hand, a sword appeared, which he used to attack the monsters. When his sword cut them, they turned into mist. Every time the sword swung, a ray of light appeared. The warrior boy’s body emitted a kind of halo too.

The warrior boy’s appearance reminded Richard of the knights in Fairy tales. Maybe the boy was the prince, and he was a prince too in this tale. Richard was impressed and fond of the boy’s bravery.

Once, a monster scratched the boy’s back, but he showed no reaction to the pain. He was too busy fighting the creatures and couldn’t look back at Richard. Only when all the monsters were gone the boy slowly turned around to Richard.

Richard could see the face blurrily and woke up from the dream suddenly. A cold sweat covered his body. Richard could not see the glowing green eyes at the foot of his bed. So, he closed his eyes and tried his best to sleep again.

Outside his room, one awaited.